If you know me IRL, and not electronically, you probably know that I don't swear. It's not that I'm offended by the words or anything, but it's not something that was permitted in my house as a child and so it's not a habit I really developed. My Mom's philosophy was "Save the words like that for the moments you really need strong words and they'll mean a lot more" and my own experience is that it's true...that when I was baking cookies shortly after Cayne and I moved in together and the cat jumped onto the counter where I was dropping cookies onto trays, and I yelled out "Oh shit," Cayne came running from the other side of the house because he knew that if I was using strong language like that something was up.

So we're sitting here suffering through the debate, and I turn to the television and say, "Shut up, John McCain. I'm not your friend, asswipe."

It's a telltale sign of just how bad things are when my mother is sending me political e-mails...while she certainly holds some strong views and pays attention to what's going on, forwarding political e-mails is typically the domain of my father.

I sent an e-mail. As the mother of a daughter, I felt obligated to. Sarah Palin is not the kind of woman I want my daughter to look up to as the first woman to hold the office of Vice President of the United States of America.

I frequent a number of different message boards for parents of children born in April of this year as Naomi was. And occasionally, rather than parenting, politics comes up.

Someone whose political views are radically different from mine concluded a post lauding John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as the VP candidate with the following comment: "So, you see. The republicans are the ones to break the glass ceiling and be the 1st to put a women up there!"

The only rational response I could come up with that wasn't vitriolic and inappropriate for the forum, was "No. The Democrats nominated a woman-Geraldine Ferraro, in 1984-24 years before the Republicans. And that's only if we dismiss all the other parties that aren't democrat or republican."

Fortunately someone else posted first...I'm not sure I'd have been able to keep the "you nincompoop" out of my post.

I've used many public restrooms in my life, and in fact, sat on many public restroom toilets. In all my experience with public restroom toilets, I can't recall any time when my foot has bumped the foot of the person in the stall next to me, accidentally or on purpose.

Coming soon, a brewing post about my marriage and my queer identity. My marriage, just so no one wonders, is fine. And perhaps some commentary on my last poll.

I've been knitting a bunch. I'm knitting squares, which I can eventually patch together into something. I got a large box of old acrylic, scrap yarn from my mother, and I have no idea what to do with it.

We did our taxes. We're trying to maintain the house in a state closer to "Company Clean" than it has traditionally been kept in. We got less rain today than we expected.

I've been enjoying the floral design courses I was taking. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life.

Florida has, as many states do, a variety of speciality license plates, with the money going to support various causes. I have, on my car, the Support Education tag on my car. I'm fine with paying a few extra dollars each year to support education.

But some of them, they bother me. I'm all for doing things like supporting reaosnable environmental causes, memorializing astronauts, demonstrating pride in a university or sports team, showing pride in military service or contributing to health promotion efforts.

I'm listening to CNN, and someone is talking about how there are people advocating a change in the law to allow Arnold Schwarzenneger to run for presdent. I just don't think I could cope with that without laughing. I suppose, though, it's a similar reaction to what some people felt when Ronald Reagan entered politics.

Very little attention has been paid to the fact that Dick Cheney's other daughter is also pregnant. Why? Because Mary Cheney is gay? Is that really a good reason to make a big deal out of it? More important, as far as I'm concerned, is that Mary Cheney and her partner of fifteen years live in a state where that partner will not be permitted any legal rights to the child that she helps raise. Suppose, fifteen years from now, a tragic accident takes the life of Mary Cheney (should have known better than to go hunting with Dad or something)-then what?

Assorted thing number 2:

Hornymanatee.com I didn't believe it when Conan O'Brien mentioned it on his show, but they made it happen. (Reasonably work safe, by the way. Unless your work doesn't like furry manatees)

Assorted thing number 3: "Avenue Jew"-a piece performed by the casts of the musicals Avenue Q and Fiddler on the Roof, spoofing both. melebeth was kind enough to provide a link to the script, too.

I realize with the anouncement today that Senator Allen is conceeding the election to Senator-Elect Webb, I should be hopeful. And I am. It's hopeful but tempered with pessimism. I keep flashing back to the last time there was a rather significant shift like this, in 1994, and thinking of the Contract with America, and how disaterous that turned out to be.

I hold out some hope that it will be better this time, but hope and faith are not the same things.